On December 24, 2022, Atlanta experienced a historic single digit 8°F (-13.3°C) minimal temperature. This cold snap turned green ground cover brown and likely pushed small hive beetles (SHB) deeper into hives and compost piles.
My bee yard has high shade, good soil moisture, and summer soil temperatures for SHB reproduction. I used biological control, Beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis Indica), to treat the soil for SHB larvae. At dusk, I watered the liquid nematode suspension onto the soil. Direct sunlight (UV light) is fatal to nematodes.
It's one thing to see and squash adult SHBs with my hive tool and another stranger thing to take a leap of faith releasing after dark 'The Smallest Show on Earth' - Step Right Up! Step Right Up!
- Moved the insulated FedEx mailer with 2.5 million microscopic nematodes to the refrigerator.
- Removed the leaf litter at the hive locations and then wet the soil.
- The next step was washing nematodes from gel transport material - small gel pieces can clog the watering can. I used a large strainer with a fine mesh to remove and rinse the numerous gel pieces.
- Added more water to the bucket and stirred it to keep the nematodes from settling to the bottom.
- At dusk, I watered the biologic control onto the soil.
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